One of the most famous physicists known to man has a crater on the moon named after him. It is named the Schrödinger, in honor of the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1933, Erwin Schrödinger. Schrödinger received the award
for his addition to the quantum mechanics. He is also famous for his Schrödinger’s equation and Schrödinger’s cat, which is still debatable today. Besides all the contributions that Erwin made to the science world, he had also served in World War I as an officer for the Austrians. Being as smart as he was, he was able to get two women to marry him. Weirdly enough one of his wife was also married to another man. ¹
Insight and Influence
Erwin Schrodinger lived from 1887 to 1961. He served in World War I and lived during World War II as well. During this period he had learned a lot and from a lot of people. He began his studies at the Akademisches Gymnasium, this is where he went under the wings of Franz Exner and Friedrich Hasenohrl. He then proceeded to become Exner’s pupil. Schrodinger was mainly influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer; this led him to becoming
Portrait of Erwin Schrödinger, 1927. Source: Schrödinger: Life and Thought. Walter Moore. 1989. Image taken from the site OregonState.edu
more interested in the area of color theory, philosophy, perception, and eastern religion. Schrodinger lived and taught at many places in Europe, one of them being Germany. Schrodinger had a job position at one of the universitys in Germany, but when Hitler and the Nazi's rose to power, he decided to leave Germany. This was mainly because he was against the prosecution of the Jews and was very anti-nazism. It resulted in him getting fired later from another university and he received many harassments from people. ¹⁴
Major Contributions
Schrodinger was widely known for his contributions to the quantum mechanics. He founded the wave mechanics and developed the Schrodinger Equation, for which he received a Nobel Prize. This equation too many physicist is singly the most important contribution to theoretical physics.His Schrodinger’s Cat experiment is also very famous as well. Schrodinger also wrote a book called “What is Life?” that gave inspiration to James D. Watson to research the gene. Watson’s research led him to the discovery to the DNA double helix bond. Aside from the quantum mechanics, Schrodinger also did some work on colors. He wrote three papers in this area: “Theorie der Pigmente von größter Leuchtkraft,” “Grundlinien einer Theorie der Farbenmetrik im Tagessehen,"and ”Farbenmetrik". ³
Affect & Effect
On August 12, 1887 Georgine Emilia Brenda gave birth to Erwin Schrodinger. His birthplace was Erdberg, Vienna. At the age of 12, Erwin was enrolled and began his schooling at the Akademisches Gymnasium. Throughout his life he taught at many places like University of Breslau, University of Zurich, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Oxford, University of Graz, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and Ghent University. Schrodinger was also offered a permanent position at Princeton but denied the offer because the idea of him having two wives was not acceptable at the university. In January 1926, Schrodinger published what called by many people as the most important achievement of the 20th century. This paper was called the "Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem". It was on wave mechanics and it gave a "derivation" of the wave equation for time independent systems. It also gave the right amount of energy eigenvalue for the hydro-like atom. Schrodinger continued his work by publishing 3 more papers that would impact the science world. The 2nd paper he wrote was on the solution to the quantum harmonic oscillator, the rigid rotor, and the diatomic molecule. His 3rd paper dealt with the Stark’s effect and his treatment for it. Schrödinger’s 4th paper was written about how to solve a problem where the system changes over and with time. A lot of people didn’t know this but Schrodinger also wrote some papers on color and they were called the “Theorie der Pigmente von größter Leuchtkraft,” “Grundlinien einer Theorie der Farbenmetrik im Tagessehen,"and ”Farbenmetrik”. ²⁴
The Things He Left Behind
When Schrodinger died in 1961, he left behind many important things for the science world. His equation is said by many as the foundation for atomic physics and chemistry. Schrödinger's wave equation could describe everything from atomic and subatomic systems to electrons and atoms. It also could describe macroscopic system and possibly the whole universe. Another significant thing he left behind was the Schrodinger’s Cat experiment. This experiment proved that there can be more than one correct answer other than the one that physically right. His book “What is Life?” also helped continued researches in the medical field. ³
Erwin Schrödinger
One of the most famous physicists known to man has a crater on the moon named after him. It is named the Schrödinger, in honor of the winner of the Nobel Prize in 1933, Erwin Schrödinger. Schrödinger received the award
Table of Contents
Insight and Influence
Erwin Schrodinger lived from 1887 to 1961. He served in World War I and lived during World War II as well.
During this period he had learned a lot and from a lot of people. He began his studies at the Akademisches Gymnasium, this is where he went under the wings of Franz Exner and Friedrich Hasenohrl. He then proceeded to become Exner’s pupil. Schrodinger was mainly influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer; this led him to becoming
Major Contributions
Schrodinger was widely known for his contributions to the quantum mechanics. He founded the wave mechanics and developed the Schrodinger Equation, for which he received a Nobel Prize. This equation too many physicist is singly the most important contribution to theoretical physics.His Schrodinger’s Cat experiment is also very famous as well. Schrodinger also wrote a book called “What is Life?” that gave inspiration to James D. Watson to research the gene. Watson’s research led him to the discovery to the DNA double helix bond. Aside from the quantum mechanics, Schrodinger also did some work on colors. He wrote three papers in this area: “Theorie der Pigmente von größter Leuchtkraft,” “Grundlinien einer Theorie der Farbenmetrik im Tagessehen,"and ”Farbenmetrik". ³
Affect & Effect
On August 12, 1887 Georgine Emilia Brenda gave birth to Erwin Schrodinger. His birthplace was Erdberg, Vienna. At the age of 12, Erwin was enrolled and began his schooling at the Akademisches Gymnasium. Throughout his life he taught at many places like University of Breslau, University of Zurich, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Oxford, University of Graz, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and Ghent University. Schrodinger was also offered a permanent position at Princeton but denied the offer because the idea of him having two wives was not acceptable at the university. In January 1926, Schrodinger published what called by many people as the most important achievement of the 20th century. This paper was called the "Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem". It was on wave mechanics and it gave a "derivation" of the wave equation for time independent systems. It also gave the right amount of energy eigenvalue for the hydro-like atom. Schrodinger continued his work by publishing 3 more papers that would impact the science world. The 2nd paper he wrote was on the solution to the quantum harmonic oscillator, the rigid rotor, and the diatomic molecule. His 3rd paper dealt with the Stark’s effect and his treatment for it. Schrödinger’s 4th paper was written about how to solve a problem where the system changes over and with time. A lot of people didn’t know this but Schrodinger also wrote some papers on color and they were called the “Theorie der Pigmente von größter Leuchtkraft,” “Grundlinien einer Theorie der Farbenmetrik im Tagessehen,"and ”Farbenmetrik”. ² ⁴
The Things He Left Behind
When Schrodinger died in 1961, he left behind many important things for the science world. His equation is said by many as the foundation for atomic physics and chemistry. Schrödinger's wave equation could describe everything from atomic and subatomic systems to electrons and atoms. It also could describe macroscopic system and possibly the whole universe. Another significant thing he left behind was the Schrodinger’s Cat experiment. This experiment proved that there can be more than one correct answer other than the one that physically right. His book “What is Life?” also helped continued researches in the medical field. ³
References
1. Nobel Prize
2. Zentralbibliothek für Physik
3. Vigyan Prasar Science Portal
4.Quantum Theories